News

A new Nihonia species is described from Western Australia and compared with Nihonia maxima Sysoev, 1997, which was described from Indonesia.

Marine taxonomists from CSIRO and the Ocean Census have identified more than 110 new fish and invertebrate species from the Coral Sea, with that number likely to exceed 200 as more cryptic species are identified. 

Re-examination of the Buccinum assimile syntype revealed a long-standing misidentification, leading to the description of Aplus dissimilis sp. nov. and the synonymisation of B. assimile with Aplus scacchianus, clarifying species identities.

As for previous years, the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) has again released its annual list of the top-ten marine species described by researchers during the past year to coincide with World Taxonomist Appreciation Day on March 19th.

Over two weeks, participants of the Isopod species discovery workshop worked through hundreds of specimens collected from expeditions ranging from Madagascar and New Zealand to the Arctic. The results were astonishing!

Following the Ocean Census-JAMSTEC expedition, scientists have confirmed the discovery of 38 new species and identified 28 further potential new species across two of Japan’s most understudied deep-sea regions: the Nankai Trough and the Shichiyo Seamount Chain.

Researchers identified two new deep-sea hesionid species, Dalhousiella yabukii and Leocratides watanabeae, living symbiotically in the same hexactinellid sponge. Their findings reveal independent convergent adaptations to sponge hosts and provide new insights into the evolution and diversification of sponge symbiosis in Hesionidae.

A new trematode genus, Sagaratrema, is proposed for liolopid parasites of marine snakes. Three new species from Sri Lanka are described alongside three reassigned species, while Harmotrema is revised. Genetic and morphological evidence supports their distinct evolutionary history and marine specialization.

In a bustling workshop room in Senckenberg am Meer, the air hums with the soft excitement of species discovery. Here, early-career researchers from across the world, as well as mid-career to retired experts, have gathered for a species discovery workshop, united by a shared fascination of isopods.